It starts raining in the early morning before dawn. It’s still raining when we get up. As we’re getting ready for the day, a monkey walks in to our room. I tell it, “Hey, get out of here.” Lori yells at it. The monkey looks back surprised, like “Wait a minute. You left the door open and I’m a monkey. What do you expect?” We go to breakfast and take our time while waiting out the rain.
Bicycling
The rain lightens up to heavy air. We walk to the minimart, rent bicycles, and ride them to the intersection with Highway 401. It’s market day so we stop to check it out. I watch a vendor make something like a thin pancake that is then loaded up with candies and rolled like an ice cream cone. A hit among the children. There are also the typical Southeast Asian market stalls – vegetables, fruits, seafood, chicken, and clothes. Fortunately, no one is selling durian. I’ve tasted it twice and don’t tolerate the smell of it very well.
We ride east on the highway a bit and roll past a temple, a school, homes, a hotel, and such. A sign points north to some bungalow resorts down a side road. We point the bicycles that way. It’s a pleasant ride through fields and jungle. The limestone karst mountains are something I’ve never seen before. Quite dramatic. Rising vertically from the jungle floor, sides covered in vines and brush. I think the locals are surprised to see a couple of white travelers out and about on bicycles. We smile and wave hello.
We arrive at Green Mountain Resort and stop to see about some lunch. There’s no one around. We say “hi” to the little dog lurking under the tables and head back towards Khlong Sok. Looks like a big community event of some sort is getting set up. There isn’t a village, so we don’t think its another market. Lori says maybe a wedding. We’ll never know since we don’t stop to check it out. We’re hungry and still looking for some lunch.
Khao Sok Tree House Resort
We stop at Khao Sok Tree House Resort for lunch on our way back into Khlong Sok. This is an upscale bungalow resort. Rooms go for twice as much and upwards of what we’re paying at Our Jungle Huts. Apparently, there’s a swimming pool somewhere on the grounds. They seem to draw a different clientèle. I see fewer travelers checking in and out with backpacks and more with suitcases. People wear shoes in the restaurant. Most places we’ve been, one takes shoes off at the door.
Power is back on. And so is wifi. Service is slow so I make use of the wifi while waiting for our order. We order garlic prawns for an appetizer. I have garlic pepper and basil pork with steamed rice. Lori has a chicken burger and French fries. I just mention what we ordered so I can remember all this scrumptious Thai food. The menu here is priced quite a bit more than other places in town. I walk around looking at the lovely flowers on the veranda. I have this thing about flowers.
The power goes out again. We ask what’s up with the power. No one seems to know. And they don’t seem to worried about it. I don’t worry either.
We stop by the minimart for some ice and then back to our bungalow. We ice sore knees and I take a nap. Lori reads her book, Life of Pi.
Morning Mist Resort
We return the bicycles to the minimart and walk the strip looking at menus. We go into Morning Mist Resort. The staff in the restaurant are friendly and fun to chat with. The food is very good and highly embellished. Our drinks come with flowers arranged in a slice of pineapple over the top of the glass. We have som tum (Thai spicy green papaya salad) and pad thai cashew.
The staff turn on the big screen television. Thailand versus Singapore football match (soccer to us Americans). Lori finds a restaurant cat to make friends with. (I catch the end of the game later back at Our Jungle Huts. Thailand wins but Singapore seems to be celebrating. Odd. I find out later that Thailand previously lost to Singapore in the tournament. So they had to win by more points than they did to advance. The tournament was over for them and that was why Thailand wasn’t celebrating.)
According to their website, rooms at Morning Mist start at 550 baht, which is a little more than we’re paying at Our Jungle Huts. The pictures of their rooms look a little nicer than our bungalow. The site also says they grow their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs served in the restaurant. We’re there at night, so I don’t ask to see the garden. I wonder if they grow the flowers used to decorate the drinks. And they offer cooking classes.
